Administration presents ‘standstill’ executive budget for FY 2526; REC growth small, targeted swaps proposed

Commissioner Taylor Barak, Commissioner of Administration, presented Governor Landry’s executive budget for fiscal year 2526 to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, saying the plan is a “standstill” budget built from the revenue estimates adopted by the Revenue Estimating Conference in December. “This might not be one of the more exciting budgets,” Barak said, “…it is a standstill,” and the presentation emphasized holding the base steady while removing one‑time items.

The administration said the REC forecast produced only $42,000,000 of general‑fund growth (about 3.35%), limiting new spending options. “The task of doing a standstill budget wasn’t too hard considering that the revenues from '25 to '26 only went up $42,000,000 or 3.35%,” Deputy Commissioner Patrick Goldsmith said, adding the five‑year forecast shows a $196,000,000 shortfall that informed the administration’s continuation and substitution decisions.

Why it matters: the “standstill” framing means the governor’s package expects little discretionary new general‑fund capacity. The presentation emphasized three ways the administration balanced the books: (1) removing one‑time carryforwards and infrastructure items included in the prior year; (2) applying agency efficiencies requested under the governor’s executive order; and (3) using means‑of‑finance swaps (replacing other fund sources with state general fund where legally allowed) to preserve services without increasing total spending.

Key numbers and adjustments listed by the administration included: a $50.8 million state general‑fund need for the State Police to replace lost self‑generated revenue; a $33.6 million shortfall in Wildlife and Fisheries’ conservation fund deposits; an $17.4 million shift for portions of the Department of Education’s Minimum Foundation Program; a $3.7 million adjustment for concealed handgun permit fund shortfalls; a $32.0 million nursing‑home rate rebasing requirement; and an $11.1 million package for Louisiana Economic Development (LED) modernization and fast‑start program moves. The budget also includes $50,000,000 for phase 1 of the LA Gator scholarship (the ESA expansion passed in Act 1 of the 2024 regular session) and a $12,700,000 carryforward/remodel amount intended to add 44 beds at the Jetson facility for juvenile placements.

The presenters flagged two federal‑fund trends that affect totals: (1) a near $1 billion decrease in Department of Education federal funds as ARPA grants wind down, and (2) a roughly $460,000,000 increase in federal disaster‑recovery and MCO payments that boost the overall budget but do not increase state general‑fund room. The administration also reminded members that any constitutional amendment changes (discussed as Constitutional Amendment No. 2 in the hearing) were not treated as law and were therefore not built into the executive budget.

Members asked for clarifications. Representative Hughes thanked the administration for summer EBT funding and pressed about teacher pay if Constitutional Amendment No. 2 passes; Barak said the governor intends to work with the legislature to ensure parishes that do not realize savings from UAL paydowns would be made whole so teachers receive the authorized raises. Representative Marceau raised a question about a reduction in domestic‑violence shelter funding; the administration said prior supplemental dollars had been carried forward and expended, so the base appropriation now appears smaller but acknowledged the reduction will decrease core funding without further action.

The administration also described how the fiscal constitution directs surplus and excess treatment: of the reported FY‑24 surplus, the packet showed a deposit plan including 25% to the Budget Stabilization Fund and 25% to pension UAL paydown, leaving approximately $297,000,000 for capital or other constitutional uses. The administration noted REC will reconvene later in session and revenue estimates may change.

What did not change in the presentation: the administration repeatedly said the executive budget uses the REC December estimates and assumes no passage of constitutional changes that were still on the ballot, and that agency continuations, statutory obligations, and legally required items were included. The presentation also pointed members to the Office of Planning and Budget supporting documents for department‑level adjustments and detailed line‑item changes.

Looking ahead: the committee chair and appropriations teams will proceed with detailed departmental hearings, and the administration said it will return to answer technical questions (for example, whether charter teachers not in TRSL would be covered under the MFP adjustments). The administration also promised follow‑up on specific items flagged during questioning, such as the charter‑school teacher pay clarification and the domestic‑violence shelter carryforward details.